The cable is expected to connect to existing access points on the west and east coast of Africa, as well as the Mediterranean, driving down bandwidth costs and making the internet available to more Africans, Forbes reports.

Fewer than 13 percent of Africans use Facebook, and the social media company is hopeful that increasing internet access could translate to more Facebook users, according to TheTelegraph.

Talks for the development of the Simba cable are at an early stage, with MTN and Vodafone reportedly involved in discussions to implement the undersea internet cables on both coasts in partnership with Facebook.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 47: Diishan ImiraJamarlin talks to Diishan Imira, founder and CEO of Mayvenn, a platform that empowers hair stylists to take back ownership of the beauty market.

The name Simba originates from Swahili and means “lion.” In Shona, a language used in Zimbabwe, Simba means “power”. Simba was the name of the main character from the popular Disney animated movie, “The Lion King.”

This won’t be the first time Facebook builds undersea internet infrastructure.

In 2017, the social media firm completed the 4,000-mile Marea cable in partnership with Microsoft that connected Spain with Virginia Beach in the U.S., Engadget reported.

Facebook not the only U.S. firm building cables in Africa

A cable named after Nigerian writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano is being built and paid for by Google.

The Equiano project is expected to connect Portugal to South Africa by 2021 and should have 20 times more network capacity than the cables already active in the region, according to a Google blog post.

Google has invested in 14 undersea cable projects globally. All its undersea cables are named after important figures from history.